NASA's ingenuity Mars helicopter recently surveyed an intriguing ridge line near the ancient river delta of the Jezero crater These pictures were taken by the small helicopter on its 27th flight on April 23, us time.
It is reported that the shooting was taken at the request of the scientific team of perseverance rover, who wanted to observe the inclined outcrop more closely.
Project scientists of perseverance Ken Farley of Caltech points out: "Smart not only provides aerial view images, but also enables our team to appear in two places on Mars at the same time. Sending a rover to investigate and explore in one place while launching a helicopter to investigate another place hundreds of meters away saves a lot of time. In addition, it can help us explore areas that the rover will never visit, as in this example."
This ridge line - named fortun ridge by the scientific team after a parish in Norway - is an interesting geological feature because data collected from orbit and data collected by perseverance in the distance show that it is the boundary between the two main rock units on the surface of the crater.
Previous images have shown that inclined rock layers are not common in this part of Mars. The scientific team will also have the opportunity to compare the images of this feature with the data collected by wit and perseverance on the inclined ridge line called artuby in the South s é í TAH area of the crater (see figure below). By comparing the two sloping ridge lines photographed by wit, scientists may be able to better understand the history of the bottom of the crater and the forces that worked on this part of Jezero crater billions of years ago.
The recent science oriented exploration of the smart was carried out after the helicopter's reconnaissance to view the rear shell and parachute, which were responsible for helping the perseverance probe land safely on Mars, while the smart was attached to its abdomen. These images have the potential to help ensure a safer landing for future spacecraft, such as the Mars Sample returner, which is part of a multi mission activity that will be responsible for bringing Mars rock, atmosphere and sediment samples back to earth for more detailed analysis.